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If I were the leadership of Iran I would welcome a unilateral American airstrike. My current internal political problems would disappear in a second and Arab and Asian countries that now provide at best lukewarm support would rally to my defense. I would receive increased Russian and Chinese aid. European countries that are now pressuring for concessions would back off in many cases to avoid being dragged into another lengthy conflict precipitated by unilateral US action. And through it all, I would rest safe knowing that US forces are already overextended and represent no short or medium term threat.

Refresh my memory, Yardley. How many of the Russians and Chinese got offended and their hackles up when Kadafi got put on notice?

You wimpy libs are all the same. You'll be flapping your gums until Iran's tanks make a left turn down your main street.

It's my guess the U S won't be needed for an initial sortie, the folks with the nads in Israel will handle it just fine.

For those so frightened of how "overextended" we are, I'm betting the USS Ronald Reagan parked in the Persian Gulf next to Kuwait, would be enough of an "extension".

UB

When the one you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.

If I were the leadership of Iran I would welcome a unilateral American airstrike. My current internal political problems would disappear in a second and Arab and Asian countries that now provide at best lukewarm support would rally to my defense. I would receive increased Russian and Chinese aid. European countries that are now pressuring for concessions would back off in many cases to avoid being dragged into another lengthy conflict precipitated by unilateral US action. And through it all, I would rest safe knowing that US forces are already overextended and represent no short or medium term threat.

I agree that they would welcome a unilateral American airstrike. It seems sometimes that they are attempting to provoke just that. It would certainly help them politically.
That said, there is no reason to "go to war" with our overextended military (and yes, we are overextended. I feel it every day and will really feel it next Saturday when I deploy back to the region). What will eventually need to be done is someone will need to destroy the facilities in question. We have the ability to do so without committing any troops to the area. What may happen as a result is naval engagement of some sort in the Gulf. That would be very bad for us but worse for them. I'm sure that there are plenty of smart people gaming out all of the posibilities, but of course you can never accurately predict all of the consequences of military action. Plenty of smart people expected Iraq to be a cakewalk. Plenty of stupid people use their 20/20 hindsight and say that they knew all along what would happen. Lets hope that Iran doesn't build nuclear weapons. Lets hope that the Chicoms and the Russians come over to our side to get this resolved. Lets hope that the Israelis don't start a new regional war by taking out the nuclear sites themselves. But while we're hoping, I sure hope somebody has a plan that will actually work.

Matt McKenzie

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it." Henry Ford

I want to clarify my flippant comment about bombing them back to the Stone Age; that was meant to rattle Roger's chain. Worked, too; didn't it? What I meant was I agree with the NY Times' article: take out Iran's enrichment facility out and soon, before they stockpile enough plutonium for a nuke. And I also meant that we've become a nation of PC pantywaists, and that this admin. will do nothing because muzzie coddling is more important than our national security.

I was surprised to read this too, and even that last bastion of One-World love, the Washington Post, has been critical of his no nukes policy. Sorry, but "Let's get rid of all nukes, we'll go first" just isn't gonna cut it. Not when certain Muslim countries have been globe trotting for decades begging, borrowing, buying and stealing plutonium enrichment technology.

From the NY Times article:

Too bad we've become a nation of pantywaists. Bomb them back to the stone age!

Of course, it won't happen because this administration is more interested in muzzie coddling than national security.

Paul Tibbets is a personal hero of mine. Not for only bombing Japan "back into the stone age", but for the many other accomplishments he mentions in his book. He passed away without much fanfare this past year. Probably won't make ET's list of celebrity passings for 2009, just as he would prefer, I'm sure. I've read my autographed copy of his book, and spoken with him on the phone. Yes, when you order his book, he still answered his own phone.
If you read his book, you would see his attitude was nothing of the "bomb them to the stone age" mentality. I can't even imagine the burden he carried his entire life, after what he did for his fellow Americans and the rest of the free world. Dropping that bomb was only the beginning of his trials and burdens. I could not have more love and respect for a fellow human being, than Paul Tibbets.

It is interesting how our perspectives change over time and as our perceptions of our own self interest shift. Today we condemn "terrorists" and argue that they are arternately "war criminals" or "illegal combatants" who deserve no rights because they target cdivilians with their bombings. In WWII, we deliberately targeted major cities to maximize population loss and create panic that we hoped would induce our enemies to surrender. Were we terrorists then?

As it happens, I tend to believe that terror is an integral part of war. I do not condemn the methods we used in WWII (my father helped with the development of the atomic bomb). As a result, I do not feel I can condemn the methods used by suicide bombers either. Both are acts of war selected based on the capabilities of the perpetrators within the context of an overall commitment to victory. The fact that I agree with our goal of defeating Germany in WWII and disagree with the Palestinian desire to defeat Israel does not change my views on the methods used.

I believe it was William T. Sherman that said, ""War is cruelty. There's no use trying to reform it, the crueler it is, the sooner it will be over." We as Americans worry too much about everything except the only thing that really matters - winning.

Matt McKenzie

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it." Henry Ford

I want to clarify my flippant comment about bombing them back to the Stone Age; that was meant to rattle Roger's chain. Worked, too; didn't it? What I meant was I agree with the NY Times' article: take out Iran's enrichment facility out and soon, before they stockpile enough plutonium for a nuke. And I also meant that we've become a nation of PC pantywaists, and that this admin. will do nothing because muzzie coddling is more important than our national security.

Why would it rattle my chain. I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1965-1969 to serve my country. I don't think I ever received a draft lottery number to the best of recollection. I was not sent to viet nam, but if I had been sent there I would have gone without hesitation. I probably could have gotten a derferrment like Cheney did because my father passed away in 1964 and I was the sole provider for my Mother and Sister. I went to high school and worked a full time job.

There is no comparison of WWII dropping the bomb and todays sucide/homicide bombers. NONE. We dropped that bomb with heavy hearts and tremendous guilt after being pulled into that war-because we as nation value life. We didn't then invade after dropping that bomb and butcher everyone. The islamic terrorists disdain life-purposely targeting innocent humans. Justifying these monsters and their methods in a comparison to WWII is disgusting.

If we didn't value life we would have just nuked the entire mideast long ago and been done with it. Which is exactly what will happen to us if these lunitics get their hands on nukes. They don't care about anyone,themselves included. Their only purpose is to destroy the West at all costs. Big damn difference.

My heartfelt thanks to our soldiers and their families. I've thought often today of the families who are suffering through Christmas without a loved one, lost to this war on terror. I'm sure the current wimps in Washington are of cold comfort to those of us who lost loved ones in 911. May God bless and keep our nation.

I condemn the terrorists and I condemn those who support them-in action, word or by quiiet acceptance.

There is no comparison of WWII dropping the bomb and todays sucide/homicide bombers. NONE. We dropped that bomb with heavy hearts and tremndous guilt after being pulled into that war-because we as nation value life. We didn't then invade after dropping that bomb and butcher everyone. The islamic terrorists disdain life-purposely targeting innocent humans. Justifying these monsters and their methods in a comparison to WWII is disgusting.

If we didn't value life we would have just nuked the entire mideast long ago and been done with it. Which is exactly what will happen to us if these lunitics get their hands on nukes. They don't care about anyone,themselves included. Their only purpose is to destroy the West at all costs. Big damn difference.

My heartfelt thanks to our soldiers and their families. I've thought often today of the families who are suffering through Christmas without a loved, lost to this war on terror. I'm sure the current wimps in Washington are of cold comfort to those of us who lost loved ones in 911. May God bless and keep our nation.

I condemn the terrorists and I condemn those who support them-in action, word or by quiiet acceptance.

Thank you for that heart-felt post, Nancy. I too have little respect for the sympathizers that don't seem to realize they are in a war with these Jihadists, regardless of it being declared or not. There are no neutrals...only patriots or ignorants.

UB

When the one you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.

I gotta say, with a father that served 4 years in the Army Air Corps flying over germany in a great cause. Your post felt like a slap in the face Jeff. Who bombed civilians first in that war? My English mother would have been able to answer that question, that's for sure.
Walt

If you notice, you will see that my Dad was one of those who helped build the atomic bomb. He never felt any regret about the decision to use it and I do not either. However, the fact is that in bombing Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and in bombing Dresden and Hamburg, we were not targeting military installations. We were bombing for maximum casualties to force a surrender. We understood that almost all of those casualties would be civilians. Just as Germany believed that it could force England to submit by bombing London and firing V-2 rockets into civilian areas, we believed that we could do the same. We also believed that these strategies were vital to our survival and the survival of our allies. I do not have a problem with that. I do have a problem when we contend that actions that are "moral" when we do them are immoral when they are done by others for causes that we oppose.